PC to amp help

[Deejah]

Hey all

I may have a slight problem i may not, im not entirely sure The thing is, i have my onboard sound from my nforce 3 mobo connected to the back of my amp at cd/aux. Im using this cable at the mo...

http://ws3.richersounds.com/showbigp...ame=101369.jpg

The single connecter end goes into the back of the pc whilst the split end goes into the left & right speaker plugs at the back of the amp.

Is this the best cable to use to produce audio sound from my pc + should i invest in a decent sound card to, as i listen to a lot of music through my computer ?

many thanks

[bigfatsi]

What kind of amp are you connecting to? Is it like a cd system or a dedicated surround system? Also what are you wanting to 'do' with the sound!? Is it to watch movies in 5.1 or just to play your mp3's on the big speakers?

Al very dependant on what you have and what you want. But for basic stereo playback it should work fine. To be honest, if you're not an audiophile and it's not high end equipment you'd probably get away with a 99p computer fair special!

[Deejah]

the amp im connecting it to is the azur 540r, the only thing i'll want to listen through the pc is mp3's not movies. As for what my setups used for, i use my system for surround + music, so a mixture of both i guess. My speakers at the mo are kef coda 90's but thinking of upgrading to something better (monitor bronze/silve or mordaunt short 900 series). I'd like to get the best outta my music/movies on the pc, so i guess im kinda an audiophile

[bigfatsi]

Should sound great! Regarding soundcard upgrades, personally I'm no expert as to which are the best for music but something like an Audigy will give you DVD audio compatibility through the 6 channel inputs if you haven't already got it through your DVD player etc.

[Deejah]

cool thanks, it does sound good yeah, i was just wanting to make sure i was making the most out of my speakers, and whether a different cable + sound card would make much difference in audio quality reproduction?

[bigfatsi]

I suppose that a top end sound card and cables would produce a slightly better end result but let's face it, mp3's are already a compromise anyway. IMHO better source material would be the best way to go rather than spending a fortune on cables etc. Remember diminishing return!
Enjoy your new toy(s)

Bigfatsi

[Deejah]

well i just thought today i'd test the optical spdif output from the onboad sound. and there is a deffinete difference. Its a lot louder than using the previous cable i was. I really had to turn the amp up to get to a decent volume of sound. With the optical, i even had to turn the amp down a little, which was a bit of a pleasent suprise